Extensible roller skate



Dec. 13, 1966 3,291,498

M. H. FRISBIE ETAL EXTENSIBLE ROLLER SKATE Filed GCb. 6, 1964 23maadwgos e Houra/tcl. S Reale/n WAM United States Patent O Healey,Hollis, N.H., assgnors to The A. C. Gilbert Company, New Haven, Conn., acorporation of Maryland Filed Oct. 6, 1964, Ser. No. 401,946 3 Claims.(Cl. 280-11.26)

This invention relates to skates and particularly roller skates that areadjustable to fit various foot sizes of the wearer such as growingchildren under the age of seven.

The applicants have found that the lighter weight and less severeservice demanded of roller skates in these smaller sizes enable them tobe made mainly of impact resistive, molded plastic material ifconstructed according to the principles and details of the presentimprovements.

One object of the invention is to avoid the objectionable click-clacknoise that is characteristic of roller skates as commonly constructedheretofore of sheet metal parts.

Another object is to lighten the weight and improve both the ruggednessand the appearance of roller skates particularly in the sizes used bysmall children.

Another object is to avoid the surface deterioration to which metallicskates are subject when left exposed to the weather by children.

Another object `is to enable the length of the skate to be adjustedeasily without the use of tools.

These and other objects of the invention will appear in fullerparticulars from the following description of the construction and useof a roller skate embodying the invention in which description referenceis had to the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. l is a top plan view of a sectional r-oller skate illustrating inreduced size one successful embodiment of the present improvement withthe sections adjusted to produce a minimum length of the skate.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the same skate.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view in section on the plane 3 3 inFIG. l looking lin the direction of the arrows.

FIG. 4 is a view taken in -section on the plane 4--4 in FIG. l lookingin the -direction of the arrows.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary bottom plan view of the `Skate drawn on the sameenlarged scale as in FIGS. 3 and 4 with its parts shifted to extend thelength of the skate.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary exploded perspective view of the lengthdetermining latch part-s of the skate positioned to accord with FIG. 5.

The skate is made in separate platform sections preferably molded fromplastic material that is suitably resistant to shocks of impact, saidsections comprising a toe upporting section 12 and a heel supportingsection 13, the former equipped with the straps 14 and the latterforming a heel guard equipped with instep straps 15 fastening the skateto the :shoe heel of the wearer. Sections 12 and 13 are slidablerelatively to each other length- Wise of the skate toward and away froma meeting line desingated M in FIG. 2, at which line they abut edgewisewhen relatively positioned to contract the skate to its minimal length.

Rigidly attached to the toe section 12 by a rivet or other :suchfastening 16 there is an elongate apertured strike plate 17 whichextends lengthwise of the skate across the aforesaid meeting line M inclose underlapping relation to -both the toe section 12 and heel section13. Strike plate 17 is held against and in slidable relation to heelsection 13 by -a retaining stud 18 which mounts a latch member havingthe form of a leaf spring 19 which serve-s to retain the striker plate17 slidably against the 3,291,498 Patented Dec. 13, 1966 ice bottomsurface of heel section 13 with sufiicient freedom to permit the leafspring to slide in unison with the platform section 13 relatively to:strike plate 17.

By means of relatively lateral branches 22 of a relatively wide,lengthwise extending aperture 23 cut out of plate 17, strike shoulders24 are provided in the plate spaced apart lengthwise thereof. The leafspring 19 has a turned-up catch end 25 capable of detentive engagementwith any of the strike shoulders 24. This catch end is normally biasedupward by the resilient in the leaf spring and seeks to extend throughsome one of the aperture branches 22 so as to catch on to the strikeshoulder 24 formed thereby.

Leaf spring 19 carries a manually operable actuator in the form of afinger button 28 that is movable upward and downward in an opening 29 inthe platform section 13, Thus button 28 is accessible to be reached anddepressed by the tip of a persons finger. This shifts the catch end 25of spring 19 downward and out of engagement with any strike shoulder 24on which it may be latched. The opening 29 occur-s at the meeting lineM-M in FIG. 1. Hence it is a split opening which becomes enlargedprogressively as toe section 12 and heel section 13 are adju-stivelyseparated to lengthen the skate as shown in FIG. 6.

It may be pointed out that Istrike plate 17 may be a thin sheet metalpart stiffened by channel forming edges 32 and that the -catch end 25 ofleaf spring 19 is permitted to project upward slightly beyond the topsurface of strike plate 17 into a :slot 33 in the toe section 12. Themolded plastic bodies comprising the toe and heel platform sections ofthe skate `are suitably lightened by their ribbed construction withoutsacrifice of rigidity. The ribbed construction at 34 in each platformsection slidably ts and serves `as a lateral gui-de to keep the strikeplate 17 aligned with the lengthwise axis of the skate.

FIG. 5 illustrates the mounting of the traction wheels 35 on the toe andheel sections of the skate. An axle bolt 36 is lodged fixedly in a boss37 on the under face of each section of the skate and with the aid ofnut 38 clamps lixedly against each lateral end of boss 37 a headedbearing bushing 39 which may be of any suitable material. The wheels 35may be molded from suitably durable wear resistant material and havehubs that are freely rotatable on the bearing bushings 39.

At least one of the traction wheels may be equipped with a soundproducing vibratory diphragm 44 from which will emanate a whining orsiren imitative sound as the wheel turns. Diaphragm 44 is tightly seatedat its peripheral edge in a rabbet-like recess or counterbore in theoutside rim of the wheel in which recess is also lodged one end of acantilever flexible arm 45 whose other end is secured to the center ofdiaphragm 44 by a Vrivet or other suitable fastening 46. Midway itslength arm 45 dips into contact with the furrowed or ribbed surface ofthe ange of stationary nut 38 and is constantly biased into yieldablecontact therewith either by resilience in the diaphragm 44 or in the`arm 4S or both. The diaphragm and arm are removably retained in thehollow of the wheel by a cupped Wheel cap 47 that snaps into theaforesaid recess in the rim of the wheel.

The following claims are directed to and intended to cover equivalentsof the herein proposed parts and arrangements -of parts which fallwithin a broad interpretation of the nomenclature employed in the claimsto deline the invention.

W-hat is claimed is:

1. In a roller skate the combination of, toe and heel platform sectionsrelatively slidable toward and away from a meeting line at which saidsections abut edgewise, an elongate strike plate having a lengthwiseextending cutout attached to one of said platform sections at one sideof said meeting line and projecting from said one section across saidline into underlapping relation to the other of said platform sections,strike shoulders on said plate spaced apart lengthwise thereof, a leafspring carrying a catch positioned thereon to extend into detentiveengagement selectively with said strike shoulders, a manually operableactuator operatively related to said leaf spring in a manner to shiftsaid catch into and out of detentive engagement with said strikesh-oulders, and a stud extending through said cutout fastening one endof said leaf spring fxedly to said other platform section.

2. In a roller skate the combination defined in claim 1, in which thesaid cutout has laterally extending branches whose edges comprise thesaid strike shoulders respectively.

3. In a roller skate the combination of, toe and heel platform sectionsrelatively slidable toward and 4away from a meeting line at which saidsections 'abut edgewise, an elongate strike plate attached to one ofsaid platform sections at one side of said meeting line and projectingfrom said one section across said line into underlapping `relation tothe other of said platform sections, strike shoulders on said platespaced apart lengthwise thereof, a leaf spring lanchored to said otherplatform section on the opposite side of said meeting line carryingacatch positioned thereon to extend into detentive engagement selectivelywith said strike shoulders, and a finger button upstanding from saidleaf spring disposed to be manually depressible for flexing said spring`downward to release said catch from detentive engagement with saidstrike shoulders.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS BENJAMIN HERSH,

MILTON L. SMITH, Examiner.

Primary Examiner.

1. IN A ROLLER SKATE THE COMBINATION OF, TOE AND HEEL PLATFORM SECTIONSRELATIVELY SLIDABLE TOWARD AND AWAY FROM A MEETING LINE AT WHICH SAIDSECTIONS ABUT EDGEWISE, AN ELONGATE STRIKE PLATE HAVING A LENGTHWISEEXTENDING CUTOUT ATTACHED TO ONE OF SAID PLATFORM SECTIONS AT ONE SIDEOF SAID MEETING LINE AND PROJECTING FROM SAID ONE SECTION ACROSS SAIDLINE INTO UNDERLAPPING RELATION TO THE OTHER OF SAID PLATFORM SECTIONS,STRIKE SHOULDERS ON SAID PLATE SPACED APART LENGTHWISE THEREOF, A LEAFSPRING CARRYING A CATCH POSITIONED THEREON TO EXTEND INTO DETENTIVEENGAGEMENT SELECTIVELY WITH SAID STRIKE SHOULDERS, A MANUALLY OPERABLEACTUATOR OPERATIVELY RELATED TO SAID LEAF SPRING IN A MANNER TO SHIFTSAID CATCH INTO AND OUT OF DETENTIVE ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID STRIKESHOULDERS, AND A STUD EXTENDING THROUGH SAID CUTOUT FASTENING ONE END OFSAID LEAF SPRING FIXEDLY TO SAID OTHER PLATFORM SECTION.